Wednesday, July 28, 2010

What I'm working on....Oh I don't even want to stop to think about it, but here's my couch this morning.

Finishing this apple hat idea I had. Just have to put the stem and leaf on the top, but will I use lime green for the leaf?

Meanwhile, Abby and Reid are drawing away and bringing me their latest creations, hence the pile of paper.

Oh, and I'm trying to finish reading of Abby's history lessons to her. Poor thing! I made her hold the book so that I could multi-task! Well, maybe that's not too bad...she could have just read it to herself.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The other night Melissa and I went over to Orange Cat Photo to check out their new space. Orange Cat is made up of two photographers, Dana Andreasson and Erica Harper, who used to have their studio space downtown on the Square in Hickory. They recently rented a new space on the corner of 127 and 2nd Ave NE. Such a neat, old house with lots of character and awesome lighting for some new photo opportunities on site! Yes, I know I am unashamedly promoting these ladies, but why not?! I actually only know Dana a bit and just met Erica that night. Their photos just have this amazing quality to them (as you can see with this wee man!) and their new house has great energy. ALSO, Dana did ask if Keeperz would be willing to sell some things in their new place. :) Of course Melissa and I are thrilled, honored, etc. Talk about a great motivator! Plus fall is right around the corner and we have yet to have a fall season trying to sell our hats as Keeperz. There is going to be one other retailer selling some pretty cool clothing there, Bada's Boutique (go "like" them on fb as they have a page too!). They have a store front in Newton, I'm pretty sure. We hope that Orange Cat does really well in their new space and that our products bring them (and us, let's be honest) more business. They are offering a great deal for the month of August, no session fee! For more details check out their website, blog, or fb page, links below.

One project we are excited to work on for Orange Cat is a display, well displays. We have to figure out the best way to have our hats and such scattered around the house so that they mesh with their style and ours. Melissa came up with some really fun ideas that I'm so glad she shared! I think we are both super pumped to get moving again. The summer heat and young children really make us tired and finding time to do anything besides basic home survival things is a challenge. However, we are up for it and are determined to make more time to get things rolling!

Orange Cat Photo will be having an Open House in August. Once we know the dates we'll let everyone know. If you are in the Hickory area be sure to come by!

Monday, July 19, 2010

We are super excited about getting our hats ready to be sold in Orange Cat Photography Studio! They are moving into a great location close to downtown Hickory in an old house on 127.

Christa and I went by there last week and got a sneak peek at the space and how they will set up their handmade boutique shop within the photography studio. We left all a buzz thinking about how to display hats...

We used 2 quart sized mason jars as our displays at past craft fairs, and although that fits with our personal style and image, it just didn't fit in with a permanent display at a shop.

On the drive home, we talked about using Styrofoam heads covered in paper mache or fabric. Once at home I hopped on google. I found heads for $5, but then had to check myself...is purchasing new Styrofoam products part of the Keeperz creed?

So, I kept thinking...and googling...

And I thought, why not keep true to my calling and make something myself! So, I set out to look for ideas for making balls out of fabric and found this cute pattern on the purl bee:

But then I realized...I don't have tons of scrap fabric that I'd like to use, but I DO have a ton of scrap yarn...duh! I'll crochet something!

So I set off with that wonderful concoction of inspiration, determination and confidence...

I decided to combine all the images from my googling and make a head-like, but featureless form, crocheted and stuffed with recycled plastic bags: Viola!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I totally thought today was our What We're Working on Wednesday. We are doing this instead of a Wordless Wednesday. I took some photos, uploaded them, signed in and saw that today is not Wednesday, but Tuesday. Then I thought I might as well go ahead and post since our blog is looking kind of shabby with our lack of postings (we are still here, just busy with our kids and the summer!). So, here is what I am working on. Tomorrow you will get to see something else Melissa is working on. These are a few hats I am making for a friend. I ordered some yarn that still hasn't shown up which the two brown ones are waiting for. The purple one...I can't tell you how many times I pulled it out. The last photo shows one such time. Phew! It was a good challenge for me. It looks pretty straight forward and I felt all confident in my skills, but for some reason I had a tough time.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Saturday, July 3, 2010

I'm really enjoying transforming old sheets into something else. So far I've turned two twin sheets into a rug and half a king sheet into a shopping bag. Unfortunately for you, I gave the shopping bag to my mom before I took a picture of it. She used it as her beach bag instead of shopping, but that's what's great about a bag...the user can use it for whatever occasion they like! My rug has found a happy home in front of my kitchen sink. I love how it feels under my feet as I cook or do the dishes, and anything to make those daily chores seem like less of a chore is a good thing! I think I'll start cooking up another rug tonight!